Sharp Fans

Neighbors Hazel and Ila (and Matt and Sarah) came to the RAL gym to cheer on Jillian at her volleyball game against Fort Vancouver (we won 3-0).

Inflatable Tackling Dummy

Tor had an Amazon gift card and decided to buy an inflatable football tackling dummy with a net for throwing a ball into. He and Gram played with it after school:

Pro Soccer Photos

A mother of one of Tor's soccer teammates shoots very nice digital photos of their games, and posts them on the web. Here's a sampling:

News Clipping

No pictures for this, but wanted to post this news article about Jillian's volleyball game last night against Hudson's Bay:

2A High School Volleyball Roundup: Shorthanded R.A. Long takes out Hudson's Bay

The Daily News Sports Staff

VANCOUVER — Behind the stellar all-around game of Jillian Woodruff, R.A. Long earned a four-set road win over Hudson’s Bay, Tuesday. Set scores in the 2A Greater St. Helens League match were 25-12, 27-29, 25-8 and 25-12.

That win over the Eagles was earned with the team's biggest hitter, Kamia Tootoosis-Didier, sitting on the bench with an injury.

In her stead, Woodruff led the Lumberjills with eight kills while also adding six assists, four aces and seven digs.

 
“We were the best we’ve been out of system all year,” R.A. Long head coach Whitney Nailon said. “We were on a rollercoaster with our play, but we were able to reframe in the third and fourth sets.”

First High School Dance

Jillian went to the RAL high school Tolo tonight with friends / teammates Evelyn and Bri. The theme was The 70's, so Jillian wore bell bottom jeans and a tie die t-shirt. They stopped at Sweet Spot on the way there:

Friday Night Lights

While the girls went inside the stadium to watch the RAL football game against Hockinson (losing 6-48), Tor and Dad played football outside on the practice field. Tor worked on being a receiver, and kicking field goals. Then, he used the equipment:

Rielee's Volleyball Game

Since Jillian's volleyball team had a bye, we were able to watch cousin Rielee's Kelso HS volleyball team play Battleground, sweeping all 3 games.

Jillian's Freshman Photo

Here's the school picture of Sweetie Pie as an RA Long freshman:

Skamakowa Work Party

We went down to Papa Ken's Skamakowa property this afternoon to help finish up some jobs and clean up. The kids threw rocks into the slough, and cleaned up the tractor.

They were rewarded with hot dogs roasted over the fire pit.

We got to also visit with Jesse, Paula, Jace and Paxton.

Bridget & Papa Ken's Birthday Party

Mom got the house ready to host a large birthday party for Bridget (12) and Papa Ken (76).

For dinner, we had 3 soups to choose from, rolls, and a lot of appetizers. Dessert was Mom's chocolate cake, and ice cream, served up by the girls.

Bridget put together a short quiz on the US Constitution (signed on Sept. 17) for everyone to try:

She received many nice gifts, and cash for Gracie's shoes.

Bridget is 12!

Bridget's 12th birthday is today! Part of it was spent with her soccer teammates as they waited for their afternoon game to start after having pictures taken.

P.S. They got lollipops from the photographer.

Bridget's Birthday List

Here's the latest installment of what Bridget would like for her birthday, with the top of the list being $$$:

The Fireballs

Bridget played her first soccer game of the season with her new team, the Fireballs. It was very hot and hazy, but Bridget played well, both at the forward position:

... and at goalie (nobody would volunteer for it, so Bridget went ahead and did it).

The game ended in a tie 3-3, which is pretty good, since they were down 0-3 at the half.

The Black Panthers

Tor played his first game with his new U10 soccer team, the Black Panthers. His buddy Bowen is with him. Tor played the first half as goalie, and got lots of action:

In the second half, he was a forward and had lots of shots on goal.

The Black Panthers ended up winning 4-1.

Open House

Bridget guided us around Monticello Middle School, showing us each of her classrooms, and letting us talk to her teachers. Here we are talking to her science teacher Ms. Reeves:

We also got to see her early school work in the hallway:

Making the Paper

Just found out that Jillian's picture was in The Daily News for the RAL vs MM volleyball game.

Lumberjills

Jillian played her first varsity match in front of former RA Long Lumberjill Varsity Volleyball players cousin Meagan and Mom.

It was a tough loss in a Civil War match against Mark Morris, but Jillian had a great start to her RAL career. She played hard and supported her teammates, and got a lot of the jitters out.

Papa Bob & Tierney's B-days

We celebrated Papa Bob's and Tierney's birthdays on Labor Day. Bridget baked chocolate chip cookies for both of them, making sure that Papa's cookies were extra crunchy.

Volleyball Poster

Jillian had her picture taken last week for her RAL varsity volleyball Poster, and this is what it will look like:

The poster will be displayed in the RAL Lumberdome for everyone to see during home volleyball matches.

BBQ in Chehalis

Brandon and Janice hosted a BBQ at their place in the Chehalis hills, and Aunt Dany brought up the horses. Bridget got to spend lots of time on Gracie, and had a couple wishes come true: she went trail riding, and she loped in an open field.

Jillian courageously got on Rocky and did well riding alongside Bridget, though she didn't care for anything above a walk.

Mom even went for a ride on Rocky, along with Noelle on Handsome.

Tor kept busy jumping on the trampoline, and launching himself into the pool.

Before leaving, Grandma Cindy took the kids for a spin in her Corvette.

Varsity Jamboree

This was Jillian's first game experience on varsity for RAL Volleyball. Their team had some nice moments against good competition, winning one against Toutle Lake (and former Integrity teammates Kendal and Lainey) and have things to work on before the first league match. Jillian did well setting, and had some nice attacks as well.

It's hard to see, but Jillian is in right front during the first point of the match against Kalama (with cousin Emmy as coach).

Black Out

Jillian had quite the day, starting with volleyball practice inside the gym, then outside on the grass, followed by a pizza dinner with the team. Then, dressed in black, she went to the RAL football "black out" game, sitting with all of her freshman volleyball friends.

Afterwards, she went back to school to have a sleep over in the annex. Tomorrow morning, the team will have breakfast, then go to Mark Morris for the Varsity Jamboree.

Tor also went to the football game, and hung out with Bowen.

It was a good, close game, but unfortunately RAL lost to CR by 3.

Shopping for Gracie

Bridget made a trip to the store to pick up feed for Gracie. She then went up to the Paul Farm to receive lessons from Aunt Dany on the English saddle.

Bridget also received a check in the mail from the Clark County Fair for all her winnings -- $152!